Method and apparatus for determining a duration of a repetition of a transport block

ABSTRACT

DCI can be received. The DCI can include scheduling information for a physical channel carrying a TB. The physical channel can include a plurality of repetitions of the TB. The physical channel can span at least one slot. Each of the plurality of repetitions can be within a slot of the at least one slot. At least one repetition of the plurality of the repetitions can have a different duration than a duration of at least one other repetition of the plurality of the repetitions. A repetition duration of each of the plurality of repetitions can be determined based on a plurality of available symbols for the physical channel. The plurality of available symbols can be determined based on the DCI.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure is directed to a method and apparatus fordetermining a duration of a repetition of a Transport Block (TB)communicated on a wireless wide area network.

2. Introduction

Presently, wireless communication devices, such as User Equipment (UE),communicate with other communication devices using wireless signals. Forenhancement of Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) in 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) Release (Rel)-16 New Radio (NR),flexible repetitions of a TB in Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)based on a single uplink grant is currently being considered. Comparedto a slot aggregation feature in 3GPP Rel-15 NR, where a UE performsrepeated TB transmissions with different redundancy versions on the sameset of symbols of multiple slots mainly for coverage enhancement, the TBrepetition schemes for URLLC should be able to accommodate bothreliability enhancement and latency reduction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which advantages and features of thedisclosure can be obtained, a description of the disclosure is renderedby reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated inthe appended drawings. These drawings depict only example embodiments ofthe disclosure and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting ofits scope. The drawings may have been simplified for clarity and are notnecessarily drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is an example block diagram of a system according to a possibleembodiment;

FIG. 2 is an example illustration of repetitions in slots according to apossible embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an example illustration of semi-static Time Division Duplex(TDD) Uplink (UL)/Downlink (DL) configuration according to a possibleembodiment;

FIG. 4 is an example illustration of symbol boundaries for four PhysicalDownlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) repetitions according to a possibleembodiment;

FIG. 5 is an example illustration of symbol boundaries for four PDSCHrepetitions with 4-symbol nominal PDSCH duration according to a possibleembodiment;

FIG. 6 is an example flowchart illustrating the operation of a wirelesscommunication device according to a possible embodiment;

FIG. 7 is an example flowchart illustrating the operation of a networkentity according to a possible embodiment; and

FIG. 8 is an example block diagram of an apparatus according to apossible embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments provide a method and apparatus for communicating on awireless network. At least some embodiments can provide for enhanceddata channels for URLLC. According to a possible embodiment, DownlinkControl Information (DCI) can be received. The DCI can includescheduling information for a physical channel carrying a TB. Thephysical channel can include a plurality of repetitions of the TB. Thephysical channel can span at least one slot. Each of the plurality ofrepetitions can be within a slot of the at least one slot. At least onerepetition of the plurality of the repetitions can have a differentduration than a duration of at least one other repetition of theplurality of the repetitions. A repetition duration of each of theplurality of repetitions can be determined based on a plurality ofavailable symbols for the physical channel. The plurality of availablesymbols can be determined based on the DCI.

FIG. 1 is an example block diagram of a system 100 according to apossible embodiment. The system 100 can include a UE 110, at least onenetwork entity 120 and 125, and a network 130. The UE 110 can be awireless wide area network device, a user device, a wireless terminal, aportable wireless communication device, a smartphone, a cellulartelephone, a flip phone, a personal digital assistant, a smartwatch, apersonal computer, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a selectivecall receiver, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or any other userdevice that is capable of sending and receiving communication signals ona wireless network. The at least one network entity 120 and 125 can be awireless wide area network base station, can be a NodeB, can be anenhanced NodeB (eNB), can be a New Radio (NR) NodeB (gNB), such as aFifth Generation (5G) NodeB, can be an unlicensed network base station,can be an access point, can be a base station controller, can be anetwork controller, can be a Transmission and Reception Point (TRP), canbe a different type of network entity from the other network entity,and/or can be any other network entity that can provide wireless accessbetween a UE and a network.

The network 130 can include any type of network that is capable ofsending and receiving wireless communication signals. For example, thenetwork 130 can include a wireless communication network, a cellulartelephone network, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)-based network,a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)-based network, an OrthogonalFrequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA)-based network, a Long TermEvolution (LTE) network, a NR network, a 3GPP-based network, a 5Gnetwork, a satellite communications network, a high altitude platformnetwork, the Internet, and/or other communications networks.

In operation, the UE 110 can communicate with the network 130 via atleast one network entity 120. For example, the UE 110 can send andreceive control signals on a control channel and user data signals on adata channel.

Different options can be used for URLLC TB repetition. According to apossible option, at least for scheduled PUSCH, one UL grant can scheduletwo or more PUSCH repetitions that can be in one slot, or across a slotboundary in consecutive available slots, which can also be calledmini-slot based repetitions. This option can include, time domainresource determination, where the time domain resource assignment fieldin the DCI can indicate the resource for the first repetition. The timedomain resources for the remaining repetitions can be derived based atleast on the resources for the first repetition and the UL/DL directionof the symbols. Different methods can handle the detailed interactionwith the procedure of UL/DL direction determination. Each repetition canoccupy contiguous symbols. Different methods can determine whether andhow to handle orphan symbols, such as when the number of UL symbols isnot sufficient to carry one full repetition. This option can alsoinclude frequency hopping of at least two hops and can support at leastinter-PUSCH-repetition hopping and inter-slot hopping. Different methodscan handle other frequency hopping schemes. Different methods can handlenumbers of hops larger than two. Different methods can handle dynamicindication of the number of repetitions. Different methods can handleDMRS sharing. Different methods can handle Transport Block Size (TB S)determination, such as based on the whole duration, or based on thefirst repetition.

According to another possible option for one UL grant scheduling two ormore PUSCH repetitions in consecutive available slots, with onerepetition in each slot with possibly different starting symbols and/ordurations, which can also be called multi-segment transmission, forURLLC TB repetition, at least for scheduled PUSCH. This option caninclude time domain resource determination. The time domain resourceassignment field in the DCI can indicate the starting symbol and thetransmission duration of all the repetitions. Different methods canhandle multiple Start and Length Indicators (SLIVs) indicating thestarting symbol and the duration of each repetition. Different methodscan handle details of SLIV, including the possibility of modifying SLIVto support the cases with S+L>14. Different methods can handle theinteraction with the procedure of UL/DL direction determination. For thetransmission within one slot, if there are more than one UL periodwithin a slot, where each UL period can be the duration of a set ofcontiguous symbols within a slot for potential UL transmission asdetermined by the UE, one repetition can be within one UL period. Eachrepetition can occupy contiguous symbols. Otherwise, a single PUSCHrepetition is transmitted within a slot following Rel-15 behavior.Different methods can handle the cases where more than one UL period isused for the transmission. At least inter-slot frequency hopping andother frequency hopping schemes can be supported. Different methods canhandle TBS determination, such as based on the whole duration, or basedon the first repetition, overhead assumption.

For the above two TB repetition options, such as schemes, for PUSCH asrespectively known as mini-slot based repetition and multi-segmenttransmission, both of the options can have similar open issues on how todetermine a TBS with balancing between latency and demodulationperformance and how to determine available UL symbols for PUSCHrepetition in TDD systems.

At least some embodiments can provide methods to determine availablesymbols for an enhanced PUSCH/PDSCH supporting time-domain TBrepetition, both for mini-slot based repetition and multi-segmenttransmission. At least some embodiments can also provide methods todetermine a TBS of the enhanced PUSCH/PDSCH.

Different URLLC use cases, such as power distribution, factoryautomation, and transport industry, can have different data packetsizes, such as 32, 250, 4096, and 10 K bytes, and can require differentlatency requirements, such as 1 ms, 2-3 ms, and/or 6-7 ms air interfacedelay. In order for a network entity and/or a UE to be able to handleURLLC packets of various sizes efficiently, PUSCH/PDSCH repetitionschemes for URLLC traffics can support various ranges of TBSs withoutcausing scheduling limitation and/or demodulation performancedegradation. Furthermore, the PUSCH/PDSCH repetition schemes can allowthe network entity to flexibly choose transmission parameters, such as aminimum required transmission duration for a self-decodable codewordand/or a starting symbol of PUSCH/PDSCH within a slot, with balancingtrade-off between latency and reliability depending on Quality ofService (QoS) requirements. A slot can be a time-domain resource unitcomprising of 14 Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)symbols in 3GPP NR.

In Rel-15 3GPP NR, a TBS for PUSCH/PDSCH can be determined based on anumber of allocated Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs), a number of symbolsof PUSCH allocation within a slot, Demodulation Reference Signal (DM-RS)overhead, higher-layer configured overhead, an indicated Modulation andCoding Scheme (MCS), and a number of layers, taking into accountTransport Block (TB)-Cyclic Redundancy Code (CRC) and Code Block(CB)-CRC.

Mini-slot based PUSCH repetition, where a total number of assignedsymbols for UL data transmission can be divided for multipletransmission occasions of a smaller number of symbols with highermodulation order and coding rate, may lead to performance degradationdue to selection of a base graph of Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) codewith a higher mother code rate, shorter consecutive reads from thecircular buffer, and accordingly, suboptimal selection of coded bitsfrom the circular buffer. On the other hand, if a TBS and MCS isdetermined based on the entire duration of the PUSCH transmission, thena receiver may not be able to decode until receiving all channel bitsfor a TB or max codeword size, which will increase the latency.

In Rel-15 NR, for a configured UL grant, if a UE is not configured tomonitor a dynamic Slot Format Indicator (SFI), then the UE can use thehigher layer configured UL and flexible symbols for configured grantPUSCH transmission. If the UE is configured to monitor dynamic SFI, theUE can transmit on the higher layer configured UL symbols as well as thehigher layer configured flexible symbols that are dynamically indicatedas UL. Dynamic SFI carried by group common PDCCH may not meet highreliability requirement, such as 99.9999%, for URLLC services.

At least some embodiments can provide for definition of availablesymbols for PUSCH transmission or PDSCH reception.

In enhanced URLLC, an enhanced PUSCH/PDSCH for carrying at least one TBcan include a plurality of UE's transmission (or reception) occasionsand can span one or more slots. Each of the plurality of transmission(or reception) occasions can be within a slot and can comprise one ormore contiguous symbols. Each of the plurality of transmission (orreception) occasions can have the same or different transmission (orreception) duration depending on a starting symbol of a transmission (orreception) occasion within a slot and available UL/DL symbols within theslot.

In the enhanced PDSCH, a reception occasion can include non-contiguousDL symbols due to pre-emption by higher-priority DL channels andreference signals, such as SS/PBCH blocks. In one example, thepre-emption by higher-priority DL channels and reference signals can beon a subset of the allocated Resource Blocks (RBs)/Resource Block Groups(RBGs)/Precoder Resource Groups (PRGs), while the other allocatedresources on the DL symbols with pre-emption can be used for PDSCHreception. For the enhanced PUSCH transmission (or PDSCH reception) inunpaired spectrum, if some of allocated symbols are used for DL (or UL)communication and are not available, a UE can start a new transmission(or reception) occasion of the PUSCH (or PDSCH) following the DL (or UL)region with potentially new or not pre-determined initial phase offset.

According to a possible embodiment, a transmission (or reception)occasion of the enhanced PUSCH/PDSCH may not map across higherpriority-PUCCH resources configured for low-latency HARQ-ACK feedback orlow-latency Scheduling Request (SR) and/or configured higher-priorityPUSCH resources.

Both in paired spectrum, such as Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), and inunpaired spectrum, such as TDD, the UE may need to support low-latencyHARQ-ACK feedback transmission in response to reception of URLLC PDSCHand transmission of URLLC PUSCH, such as the enhanced PUSCH comprisingmultiple transmission occasions for transport block repetition,simultaneously. In UL, transmitting two UL channels with differentfrequency-domain resource allocations simultaneously by a UE may not beeffective due to potential intermodulation and resulting Power Amplifier(PA) output power backoff. Thus, if the enhanced PUSCH overlaps withanother higher-priority UL channel, such as PUCCH for low latencyHARQ-ACK feedback/SR or the highest-priority configured grant PUSCHresource, in the time-domain and if the UE did not have enoughprocessing time to multiplex low latency HARQ-ACK feedback/SR in thePUSCH, the UE may have to stop PUSCH transmission and potentially resumePUSCH transmission after completing transmission of higher priority ULchannels. Since the enhanced PUSCH also needs to be protected to meetthe reliability requirement, puncturing a part of a transmissionoccasion of the enhanced PUSCH that overlaps with other higher priorityUL channels in time may not be efficient. Furthermore, due to PA powersetting change during transmission of another UL channel, such as with adifferent transmission power or different frequency allocation, phasediscontinuity can occur and accordingly, starting a new transmissionoccasion of the enhanced PUSCH, such as comprising its self-containedDM-RS, can be used.

According to a possible embodiment, OFDM or precoded OFDM, such asSC-FDMA, symbols of the enhanced PUSCH, such as URLLC PUSCH with TBrepetition, that overlap in time-domain with other higher priority ULchannels, such as PUCCH resources configured for URLLC HARQ-ACK feedbackor higher-priority configured PUSCH resources, can be opportunisticallyused for the enhanced PUSCH. In one example, if the UE determines thatthe UE would not transmit on a configured higher-priority PUCCH and/orPUSCH resource, the UE can extend the enhanced PUSCH transmissionoccasion up to or to include the PUSCH symbols that overlap in time withthe configured higher-priority PUCCH and/or PUSCH resource bytransmitting the additional channel bits on the time-overlapped enhancedPUSCH symbols. In another example, a network entity, such as a gNB, canindicate in UL scheduling DCI whether to extend the enhanced PUSCHtransmission occasion up to or to include the enhanced PUSCH symbolsthat overlap in time with the configured PUCCH/PUSCH resource. If thetime-overlapped enhanced PUSCH symbols are allocated for other users orother signals/channels, the network entity can indicate to the UE not totransmit on the time-overlapped enhanced PUSCH symbols.

In one implementation, two or more transmission (or reception) occasionsof the PUSCH (or PDSCH) included in a slot of the one or more slots canbe non-contiguous in time. That is, more than one transmission (orreception) occasion can occur within a slot, only if there is a gapbetween any two transmission (or reception) occasions. The gap can beunavailable time-domain resources, such as DL symbols for the PUSCH orUL symbols for the PDSCH, reserved symbols, higher priority-PUCCHresources configured for low-latency HARQ-ACK feedback or low-latencySR, and/or configured higher-priority PUSCH resources. Thisimplementation can be used for URLLC applications with large packetsizes, such as 1 Kbyte or larger, since a transmission (or reception)occasion can last up to a slot duration as long as there are nounavailable symbols in the slot. In another implementation, two or moretransmission (or reception) occasions of the PUSCH (or PDSCH) in a slotof the one or more slots can occur on contiguous symbols without a gap.This implementation can be used for URLLC applications with small packetsizes, such as 32 bytes, and/or tight latency requirements, such as 1 msair interface latency, for example, when the TBS and/or code rate isdetermined such that most of transmission (or reception) occasions areself-decodable.

At least some embodiments can provide for determination of a TBS.

According to a possible embodiment, a UE can receive information of timedomain resource allocation, such as a starting time, an ending time,and/or a duration, for an enhanced PUSCH (or PDSCH) supporting TBrepetition in the time domain.

In a first example, the time-domain resource allocation can includeinformation of the duration for a time interval between a first timeinstance when the PUSCH transmission or PDSCH reception starts and asecond time instance when the PUSCH transmission or PDSCH receptionends, where the UE may not transmit the PUSCH or receive the PDSCHduring the entire time interval. For example, the UE may not transmitthe PUSCH or receive the PDSCH because some symbols within the timeinterval can be unavailable symbols, where the UE does not transmit.

In a second example, the time-domain resource allocation can includeinformation of the total duration during which the actual PUSCHtransmission or PDSCH reception occurs.

In a third example, the time-domain resource allocation can includeinformation of a nominal duration of a transmission (or reception)occasion. In one implementation, the nominal duration may not be zero.In one implementation, the nominal duration can be the duration of thefirst transmission (or reception) occasion.

The UE can determine a starting/ending time and a duration for each ofthe plurality of transmission (or reception) occasions in the PUSCH (orPDSCH), based on the received information of time-domain resourceallocation, based on the slot boundary timing information, based onDL/UL configuration and slot format information in unpaired spectrum,based on higher-priority PUSCH resource configuration information,and/or based on higher-priority-PUCCH resource configurationinformation. The starting/ending time can be in terms of astarting/ending slot and a starting/ending symbol within thestarting/ending slot.

FIG. 2 is an example illustration 200 of repetitions in slots accordingto a possible embodiment. In the above first and second examples, onetransmission (or reception) occasion in a slot of the one or more slotswhere the PUSCH (or PDSCH) spans can be determined such that a startingsymbol, denoted as symbol X, can be the earliest available symbol forthe PUSCH (or PDSCH) in the slot that does not belong to a previoustransmission (or reception) occasion of the PUSCH (or PDSCH) and anending symbol, denoted as symbol Y, can be the last symbol of contiguousavailable symbols for the PUSCH (or PDSCH) starting from the symbol X inthe slot. In the above third example, a starting symbol, such as symbolX, of one transmission (or reception) occasion in a slot can be theearliest available symbol for the PUSCH (or PDSCH) in the slot that doesnot belong to a previous transmission (or reception) occasion of thePUSCH (or PDSCH), and an ending symbol, such as symbol Y, can be thelast symbol of a subset of contiguous available symbols for the PUSCH(or PDSCH) starting from the symbol X. All the symbols in the subset ofthe contiguous available symbols can be contiguous, and the first symbolof the subset can be symbol X. The number of symbols in the subset ofthe contiguous available symbols may not be less than a value A but canbe less than a value B, where the value B can be the sum of the nominalduration in terms of number of symbols and the value A. That is, if anumber of the remaining contiguous available symbols following thenominal duration in the contiguous available symbols for the PUSCH (orPDSCH) starting from the symbol Xis less than the value A, the remainingcontiguous available symbols in addition to the nominal duration can beincluded in the transmission (or reception) occasion. Otherwise, a newtransmission (or reception) occasion can be formed from the remainingcontiguous available symbols. The value A can be dependent on thenominal duration. In one implementation, the allowed set of value pairs‘(nominal duration, A)’ can be predefined or higher-layer configured. Inanother implementation, the value A can be separately configured,dynamically signaled, or predefined.

In a related embodiment, one PDSCH repetition out of multiple PDSCHrepetitions of a TB can be a reception occasion. A reception occasionfor PDSCH may not have any unavailable symbol, but can have one or moresymbols leading to a number of unavailable resource elements/blocks thatis more than a threshold. In one example, the value A can be dependenton one or more of the nominal durations of a PDSCH repetition, thenumber of unavailable Resource Elements (REs)/RBs, and the number ofallocated RBs via scheduling assignment scheduling the PDSCH. In oneexample, the number of unavailable REs/RBs may not be a total number ofunavailable REs/RBs, but can be determined based on a fraction ofunavailable REs/RBs, such as based on the Control Resource Set (CORESET)rate-matched around the PDSCH. In another example, unavailable resourcescan include pre-empted resources, such as determined based on apre-emption indication.

In one example, the number of PUSCH (or PDSCH) transmission occasionswithin a contiguous set of available symbols can be determined based ondividing (floor) the number of symbols in the set by the nominalduration, such as the indicated nominal duration, with the last or firstPUSCH (or PDSCH) transmission occasion being larger, such as moresymbols than the nominal duration, including the remaining contiguousavailable symbols within a contiguous set of available symbols. Forexample, with a nominal duration of 4 symbols, and 9 contiguousavailable symbols, there can be floor(9/4)=2 PUSCH (or PDSCH)transmission occasions with the first PUSCH (or PDSCH) transmissionoccasions duration of 4 symbols, and the second PUSCH (or PDSCH)transmission occasions duration of 5 symbols. In another example, thefirst PUSCH (or PDSCH) transmission occasions can be a duration of 5symbols and the second PUSCH (or PDSCH) transmission occasions can be aduration of 4 symbols.

The UE can determine a TBS for the enhanced PUSCH (or PDSCH), based onthe determined durations for the plurality of transmission (orreception) occasions of the enhanced PUSCH (or PDSCH). In one example,the UE can determine the TBS based on an average transmission (orreception) occasion duration, such as in terms of a number of OFDM orSC-FDMA symbols, or a median transmission (or reception) occasionduration from the durations of the plurality of transmission (orreception) occasions of the PUSCH (or PDSCH). These methods can allowthe UE to transmit/receive self-decodable channel bits in most oftransmission (or reception) occasions if the plurality of transmission(or reception) occasions have similar durations.

In another example, the UE can determine the TBS based on the maximumtransmission (or reception) occasion duration from the durations of theplurality of transmission (or reception) occasions of the PUSCH (orPDSCH). Under a given target data rate, such as similar TBS for a givenPUSCH (or PDSCH), this method can allow a gNB to schedule a lower MCSfor the PUSCH (or PDSCH) and exploit the coding gain. Under a given MCS,the method can allow a gNB to schedule a larger TBS with less or nolimitation in frequency domain resource allocation. In yet anotherexample, the UE can determine the TBS based on the minimum transmission(or reception) occasion duration from the durations of the plurality oftransmission (or reception) occasions of the PUSCH (or PDSCH). Thismethod can guarantee the UE to transmit/receive self-decodable channelbits in all transmission (or reception) occasions even when theplurality of transmission (or reception) occasions have large variationsin terms of their durations.

In another example, the UE can determine the TBS based on the nominalduration of PUSCH (or PDSCH) transmission (or reception) occasion. Inyet another example, the UE can determine the TBS based on the durationof the first PUSCH (or PDSCH) transmission (or reception) occasion.

In other examples, DCI scheduling the enhanced PUSCH (or PDSCH) canindicate which method the UE should apply to determine the TBS, forexample, by using 2-bit indication, such as 00: average of thedurations, 01: median of the durations, 10: maximum duration, and 11:minimum duration. The gNB can choose a proper method for TBSdetermination based on the knowledge of available time-frequencyresources and scheduling priority in a cell, latency requirements ofon-going traffics, UE's buffer status report, and other information.Optionally, a set of allowed numbers of OFDM/SC-FDMA symbols for TBSdetermination can be higher-layer configured, and the UE can select onevalue in terms of a number of OFDM symbols for TBS determination basedon the durations of the plurality of transmission (or reception)occasions and the indicated or configured TBS determination method.

In one example, the DCI scheduling the enhanced PUSCH (or PDSCH) canindicate the number of OFDM/SC-FDMA symbols for TBS determination fromamong the set of allowed numbers of OFDM/SC-FDMA symbols for TBSdetermination that are higher-layer configured. In one example, the TBSdetermination method can be Radio Resource Control (RRC) configured, atleast for URLLC traffic. URLLC traffic can be identified by, forexample, if the scheduling DCI has an Radio Network Temporary Identifier(RNTI) such as MCS-Cell (C)-RNTI or if the DCI has a priority/serviceindicator field indicating a URLLC/high priority service, or by anindication from higher layers, such as Medium Access Control (MAC),indicating a logical channel with URLLC/high priority service ismultiplexed on the MAC Protocol Data Unit (PDU) that is to betransmitted on the PUSCH (or PDSCH). In one implementation, the TBSdetermination method can be configured as part of PUSCH (or PDSCH)configuration.

In another example, the TBS determination method can be determined basedon one or more of determined duration of transmission (or reception)occasions and/or number of transmission (or reception) occasions.

In one example, the TBS determination method can be selected based onthe Redundancy Version (RV) sequence used for PDSCH/PUSCH repetitions.Given, RV0 and RV3 can be self-decodable, in an example, a first TBSdetermination scheme that helps in self-decodability of each PDSCH/PUSCHrepetition can be selected if the PDSCH repetitions use only RV0 andRV3. Otherwise, a second TBS determination scheme can be used, such as amaximum instead of a minimum/average described above. Withself-decodability, the UE can determine the TBS based on the minimumtransmission (or reception) occasion duration from the durations of theplurality of transmission (or reception) occasions of the PUSCH (orPDSCH). In another example, the TBS can be determined based on theduration of one or more of PDSCH/PUSCH repetitions with a first set ofRVs, such as RV0 or RV3.

In one example, if the dissimilarity between the number of symbols ortime-frequency resources of determined duration of transmission (orreception) occasions is smaller/not larger than a threshold, a first TBSdetermination method can be used. Otherwise a second TBS determinationmethod can be used. The threshold can be pre-defined, or signaled viahigher layer or a DCI, such as a scheduling DCI. In another example, ifthe dissimilarity between hypothetical TBSs calculated for differentdetermined durations of transmission (or reception) occasions issmaller/not larger than a threshold, a first TBS determination methodcan be used. Otherwise a second TBS determination method can be used,such as where each calculated hypothetical TBS is calculated assuming asingle transmission (or reception) occasion with its determinedduration. In another example, the dissimilarity criteria can be based onone or more of number of layers, code rate, and MCS used for eachtransmission occasion.

In one example, different MCS and/or different number of layers, and/ordifferent number of resources, such as REs/RBs, can be used fordifferent transmission occasions, such as a first transmission occasionfrom a first TRP and a second transmission occasion from a first TRP.The first transmission occasion and the second transmission occasion canbe associated with the same TB.

In one example, the TBS of the transport block can be determined basedon the minimum of the hypothetical TBSs, such as a minimum of theintermediate number of information bits (N_(info)) as described inTechnical Specification (TS) 38.214, calculated for the firsttransmission occasion and the second transmission occasion. In oneexample, the TBS of the transport block can be determined based onparameters associated with the first transmission occasion only.

According to another possible embodiment, if multiple TransmissionConfiguration Indicator (TCI) states or multiple Sounding ReferenceSignal (SRS) Resource Indices (SRIs) are configured or indicated for theenhanced PDSCH or PUSCH, respectively, then the TBS can be determinedsuch that each transmission (or reception) occasion is self-decodable.

A PDCCH scheduling the enhanced PDSCH/PUSCH can include one or moreTCI(s) or SRI(s) for determining PDSCH/PUSCH antenna port quasico-location. The TCI can indicate one of the higher layer TCI-Stateconfigurations, down-selected by a MAC CE TCI state activation command,in the scheduled component carrier or DL Bandwidth Part (BWP)configuring a quasi-collocation relationship between one or morereference DL reference signals and the DM-RS ports of the PDSCH. Thequasi co-location types can take one of the following values:

‘QCL-TypeA’: {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delayspread}

‘QCL-TypeB’: {Doppler shift, Doppler spread}

‘QCL-TypeC’: {Doppler shift, average delay}

‘QCL-TypeD’: {Spatial Rx parameter}

At least some embodiments can provide for determination of UL or DLsymbols for PUSCH and/or PDSCH.

FIG. 3 is an example illustration 300 of semi-static TDD UL/DLconfiguration according to a possible embodiment. For example, theillustration 300 can include pattern 1 and pattern 2 from a TDD UL/DLcommon configuration information element, such asTDD-UL-UL-ConfigurationCommon. In Rel-15 NR, for a set of symbols of aslot that are indicated as DL/UL via semi-static TDD DL/ULconfiguration, a UE may not expect to detect a DCI format 2_0 with anSFI-index field value indicating the set of symbols of the slot asUL/DL, respectively, or as flexible. Thus, a PUSCH can be transmitted onsemi-statically configured UL symbols. In RRC configured flexiblesymbols, the UE, if configured to monitor DCI format 2_0, can determinewhether to receive/transmit semi-statically configured DL/ULchannels/signals based on a slot format indication via DCI format 2_0.For RRC configured flexible symbols, if the UE does not detect DCIformat 2_0 providing a slot format for the slot, the UE may notreceive/transmit semi-statically configured DL/UL channels/signals andthe UL transmission can be cancelled as long as processing timerequirement is met. In dynamically indicated flexible symbols, the UEcan prioritize dynamically scheduled UL/DL channels/signals oversemi-statically configured UL/DL channels/signals.

According to a possible embodiment, a UE can receive an indication ofslot formats for RRC configured flexible slots/symbols in DCI schedulingan enhanced PUSCH (or PDSCH), DCI activating a configured grant enhancedPUSCH, and/or DCI activating a semi-persistently scheduled enhancedPDSCH. Dynamic slot-format indication based on DCI format 2_0, such asgroup-common DCI, may not meet URLLC reliability requirement. Also, inthe enhanced PUSCH (or PDSCH), which is dynamically scheduled,semi-statically configured, or semi-persistently scheduled, only usingsemi-statically configured UL/DL regions for transmission (or reception)of the PUSCH (or PDSCH) may not provide enough resources to guaranteereliability or may take longer time to complete PUSCH transmission orPDSCH reception with required actual transmission (or reception) time.For example, multiple PUSCH (or PDSCH) transmission occasions may beneeded.

To enhance the reliability of slot formation indication, according to apossible embodiment, dynamic slot format indication for slots includinghigher-layer configured flexible symbols can be included in thescheduling DCI and/or (re)-activation DCI of URLLC PDCCH, if resourceallocation of the enhanced PUSCH (or PDSCH) includes the slots withhigher-layer configured flexible symbols.

In a possible implementation, a subset of slot formats, with 2-4 bitindication in DCI, from the set of slot formats defined in 3GPP TS38.213 can be allowed to be used, as shown in Table 1, which shows UIL(U), DL (D), and flexible (F) symbols. In one example, the slot formatindexes corresponding to the subset of slot formats, from within which aslot format is selected and indicated in the dynamic slot formatindication, can be configured by higher layers. In Table 1, the UE canbe allowed to transmit the enhanced PUSCH on dynamically indicated ULand flexible symbols. For further reduction of DCI overhead, in otherimplementations, one slot format indicated in the scheduling DCI can beapplicable to all flexible slots within the enhanced PUSCH (or PDSCH)duration. Flexible slots can be slots including the higher-layerconfigured flexible symbols and flexible symbols in a slot can take thesame corresponding transmission direction U/D/F as that in the indicatedslot format.

TABLE 1 Example: a subset of slot formats used for an enhanced PUSCHFor- Symbol number in a slot mat 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 U U UU U U U U U U U U U U 4 D D D D D D D D D D D D F F 5 D D D D D D D D DD D F F F 6 D D D D D D D D D D F F F F 7 D D D D D D D D D F F F F F 16D F F F F F F F F F F F F F 17 D D F F F F F F F F F F F F 18 D D D F FF F F F F F F F F 44 D D D D D D F F F F F F U U 47 D D F U U U U D D FU U U U 48 D F U U U U U D F U U U U U 49 D D D D F F U D D D D F F U 50D D F F U U U D D F F U U U 54 F F F F F F F D D D D D D D 55 D D F F FU U U D D D D D D

According to another possible embodiment, the UE can be configured tomonitor a DCI format of high-reliability dynamic Slot Format Indicator(SFI). If the UE is configured to monitor high reliability dynamic SFI,the UE can transmit on the higher layer configured UL symbols as well asthe higher layer configured flexible symbols that are dynamicallyindicated as UL. If the UE is not configured to monitor high reliabilitySFI, the UE can use the higher layer configured UL and flexible symbolsfor configured grant PUSCH transmission.

According to a possible implementation, the DCI format ofhigh-reliability dynamic SFI can have the same DCI field as the DCIformat 2_0 of Rel-15 NR, but can be scrambled with a different RNTI thanthe Rel-15 NR Slot Format Indication (SFI)-RNTI. In anotherimplementation, the DCI format of high-reliability dynamic SFI can beincluded in UE-specific PDCCH. The UE can determine available UL/DLsymbols for the enhanced PUSCH (or PDSCH) supporting PUSCH (or PDSCH)repetition based on the detected high-reliability dynamic SFI. In oneexample, if a UE is configured to monitor a DCI format ofhigh-reliability/low-latency PDSCH/PUSCH transmission, the DCI formatcan also include a high reliability dynamic SFI indication. In oneimplementation, such an inclusion can be possible if the UE isconfigured/capable of reception of dynamic SFI indication in the DCIformat.

In Rel-16 NR and onward, a UE can be configured with PUSCH (or PDSCH)slot aggregation, such as a multi-slot PUSCH (or PDSCH) with the samesymbol allocation in each slot, where the higher layer parameterspdsch-AggregationFactor and/or pdsch-AggregationFactor in 3GPP TS 38.331can be configured. The UE can determine whether to perform TBrepetition, how to perform TB repetition, and the number of TBrepetitions based on a detected DCI format.

For example, if the detected DCI format is a newly defined, such as inRel-16 NR and onward, DCI format or a DCI format scrambled by a newlydefined, such as in Rel-16 NR and onward, RNTI for URLLC data, then theUE can perform TB repetition according to the enhanced TB repetitionschemes. If the detected DCI format is a legacy, such as in Rel-15 NR,DCI format and/or scrambled with a legacy RNTI, such as a C-RNTI and/orMCS-C-RNTI, the UE can perform PUSCH (or PDSCH) slot aggregation withthe same symbol allocation in each slot according to the Rel-15 NRspecification.

In a first example embodiment, a UE can receive a scheduling assignmentscheduling a number of PDSCH repetitions over a set of symbols. The UEcan determine the number of unavailable REs over the set of symbols. TheUE can determine a first set of boundary symbols corresponding to thePDSCH repetitions. The UE can determine a second set of boundary symbolscorresponding to the PDSCH repetitions, where the set of boundarysymbols determines the symbols associated with each of the PDSCHrepetitions. The UE can determine a first set of number of unavailableREs for PDSCH repetitions based on the first set of boundary symbols.Each element of the first set of unavailable REs can be associated witheach of the PDSCH repetitions. The UE can determine a second set ofnumber of unavailable REs for PDSCH repetitions based on the second setof boundary symbols. Each element of the second set of unavailable REscan be associated with each of the PDSCH repetitions. The UE candetermine a first distance parameter corresponding to the elements ofthe first set of a number of unavailable REs for PDSCH repetitions. TheUE can determine a second distance parameter corresponding to theelements of the second set of a number of unavailable REs for PDSCHrepetitions. The UE can decode the PDSCH repetitions according to thefirst set of boundary symbols corresponding to the PDSCH repetitions ifthe first distance parameter is smaller than the second distanceparameter. Otherwise, the UE can decode the PDSCH repetitions accordingto the second set of boundary symbols corresponding to the PDSCHrepetitions.

In an example related to the first example embodiment, the first/seconddistance parameter can measure the discrepancy of elements of thefirst/second set of number of unavailable REs for PDSCH repetitions. Forinstance, the first/second distance parameter can be the maximumdifference between the first/second set of number of unavailable REs forPDSCH repetitions. For example, for a scheduling assignment, and four,such as four nominal, PDSCH repetitions, the first set of number ofunavailable REs for PDSCH repetitions can be [100, 200, 120, 50], andthe first distance parameter can be 200 (maximum of the first set ofnumber of unavailable REs)−50 (minimum of the first set of number ofunavailable REs)=150.

In a related second example embodiment, the number of unavailable REscan be determined at least based on a parameter indicated in thescheduling assignment, such as a rate matching indicator defined in DCIformat 1-1 of TS 38.212. Additionally, or alternately, the number ofunavailable REs can be determined at least based on the CORESET wherethe scheduled PDSCH is rate matched around.

In a third example embodiment related to the first example embodiment,instead of or in addition to using a distance parameter to determinewhether to select the first or the second set of boundary symbolscorresponding to the PDSCH repetitions, one or more of differentcriteria can be used. One criterion that can be used to determinewhether to select the first or the second set of boundary symbolscorresponding to the PDSCH repetitions can be a PDSCH repetition indexamongst the PDSCH repetitions. Another criterion that can be used todetermine whether to select the first or the second set of boundarysymbols corresponding to the PDSCH repetitions can be the startingsymbol index of the first PDSCH repetition. Another criterion that canbe used to determine whether to select the first or the second set ofboundary symbols corresponding to the PDSCH repetitions can be a TBSnumber determined for each PDSCH repetition assuming a first/second setof boundary symbols corresponding to the PDSCH repetitions.

In a fourth example embodiment related to the first example embodiment,the first and the second set of boundary symbols corresponding to thePDSCH repetitions can be determined based on a higher layer indicationsuch as RRC signaling.

FIG. 4 is an example illustration 400 of symbol boundaries for fourPDSCH repetitions according to a possible embodiment. The top symbols410 can show [3,2,2,2]. The bottom symbols 420 can show [2,2,2,3]. Eachshading can show one PDSCH repetition. In this example, the UE can bescheduled with four PDSCH repetitions, where each PDSCH repetition canhave a nominal duration of two OFDM symbols. If the first PDSCHrepetition starts at the 6^(th) symbol of a 14-symbol slot, the firstset of boundary symbols corresponding to the PDSCH repetitions can bedetermined based on a first configuration, such as [3,2,2,2], and thesecond set of boundary symbols corresponding to the PDSCH repetitionscan be determined based on a second configuration, such as [2,2,2,3].

FIG. 5 is an example illustration 500 of symbol boundaries for fourPDSCH repetitions with 4-symbol nominal PDSCH duration according to apossible embodiment. The top symbols 510 can show [5,4,4,4] and thebottom symbols 520 can show [4,5,4,4]. Each shading can show one PDSCHrepetition. Each slot can contain 14 symbols. In this example, the UEcan be scheduled with four PDSCH repetitions, where each PDSCHrepetition can have a nominal duration of four OFDM symbols. If thefirst PDSCH repetition starts at the 6^(th) symbol of a 14-symbol slot,the first set of boundary symbols corresponding to the PDSCH repetitionscan be determined based on a first configuration, such as [5,4,4,4], andthe second set of boundary symbols corresponding to the PDSCHrepetitions can be determined based on a second configuration, such as[4,5,4,4].

In another example, the UE can be scheduled with 4 PDSCH repetitions,where each PDSCH repetition can have a nominal duration of 2 OFDMsymbols. If the first PDSCH repetition starts at the 6^(th) symbol of a14-symbol slot, the fourth PDSCH repetition can include the last symbolof the slot, such as the 14^(th) symbol of the slot, as an additionalsymbol. For example, the last mini-slot/PDSCH repetition can be composedof three symbols instead of two symbols.

FIG. 6 is an example flowchart 600 illustrating the operation of awireless communication device, such as the UE 110, according to apossible embodiment. At 610, DCI can be received. The DCI can includescheduling information for a physical channel carrying a TB. Thephysical channel can include a plurality of repetitions of the TB. Arepetition of a TB can mean there is at least one actual transmission(or reception) of the TB. Furthermore, a repetition can be an initialtransmission (or reception) of the TB, which in the art can beconsidered a repetition despite being the initial transmission (orreception) of the TB. The physical channel can span at least one slot.

Each of the plurality of repetitions can be within a slot of the atleast one slot. Two consecutive repetitions of the plurality ofrepetitions included in a slot of the at least one slot can benon-contiguous in time where at least one unavailable symbol can existbetween the two consecutive repetitions. Each of the plurality ofrepetitions can be on a consecutive set of symbols from the plurality ofavailable symbols. According to a possible embodiment, each repetitionof the plurality of repetitions can include at least one DM-RS symbol.At least one repetition of the plurality of the repetitions can have adifferent duration than a duration of at least one other repetition ofthe plurality of the repetitions.

At 620, a repetition duration of each of the plurality of repetitionscan be determined based on a plurality of available symbols for thephysical channel. The plurality of available symbols can be determinedbased on the DCI. According to a possible implementation, the UE candetermine a repetition duration, and can transmit, for UL, or receive,for DL, the plurality of repetitions of the TB based on the determinedrepetition duration.

According to a possible embodiment, a configuration includinginformation of a plurality of potentially unavailable symbols for thephysical channel can be received via a higher-layer signaling. Thehigher-layer can be higher than a physical layer. The plurality ofavailable symbols can be determined based on a semi-static configurationand the DCI. In one example, a UE can receive a subset of slot formatsindicating at least one of UL, DL, and flexible symbols in thesemi-static configuration, and can further receive a DCI fieldindicating a selection of a slot format selected from the subset of slotformats. In another example, the potentially unavailable symbols can besymbols configured for high-priority PUCCH/PUSCH higher than thephysical channel and can be pre-emptied resources.

According to a possible embodiment, the plurality of potentiallyunavailable symbols for the physical channel can include reservedresources, pre-emptied resources, at least a part of semi-staticallyconfigured flexible symbols, and/or symbols configured for at least onehigh-priority physical channel higher than a priority of the physicalchannel. Flexible symbols can be symbols that are available for UL or DLtransmissions.

According to a possible embodiment, the higher-layer configuration caninclude information of a set of allowed slot formats. The DCI caninclude an indication of a slot format of the set of allowed slotformats. The plurality of available symbols can be determined based onthe indicated slot format.

According to a possible embodiment, at least one semi-static DL and ULconfiguration for a TDD operation can be received. According to apossible implementation, at least one semi-statically configured DLsymbol configured via the at least one semi-static DL and ULconfiguration can be an unavailable symbol for the physical channel. Thescheduling information can include an UL grant. The physical channel canbe a PUSCH. According to another possible implementation, at least onesemi-statically configured UL symbol configured via the at least onesemi-static DL and UL configuration can be an unavailable symbol for thephysical channel. The scheduling information can include a DL schedulingassignment. The physical channel can be a PDSCH.

According to a possible embodiment, the scheduling information caninclude an indication of a nominal duration of a repetition. Therepetition duration of each of the plurality of repetitions can bedetermined based on the received indication of a nominal duration. Forexample, the repetition duration can be determined based on the nominalduration. The repetition duration of each of the plurality ofrepetitions can be less than or equal to the nominal duration. Forexample, this can be a case of the value A=1. A TB size for the physicalchannel can be determined based on the nominal duration.

According to a possible embodiment, the plurality of repetitions caninclude a first repetition and a second repetition. The first repetitioncan occur before the second repetition. A determination can be made asto whether to use a first set of repetition durations or a second set ofrepetition durations. The first set of repetition durations can includea first repetition duration and a second repetition duration. The secondset of repetition durations can include a third repetition duration anda fourth repetition duration. In response to determining to use thefirst set of repetition durations, the TB can be decoded based onassociating the first repetition duration with the first repetition andbased on associating the second repetition duration with the secondrepetition. In response to determining to use the second set ofrepetition durations, the TB can be decoded based on associating thethird repetition duration with the first repetition and based onassociating the fourth repetition duration with the second repetition.

According to a possible embodiment, determining whether to use the firstset of repetition durations or the second set of repetition durationscan be based on a starting symbol of the first repetition.

According to another possible embodiment, a first set of a first numberof unavailable REs corresponding to the first set of repetitiondurations can be determined. A set of unavailable REs can includeresources pre-empted by a pre-emption indication and/or resourcesindicated by a rate-matching indicator. A second set of a second numberof unavailable REs corresponding to the second set of repetitiondurations can be determined. Determining whether to use the first set ofrepetition durations or the second set of repetition durations can bebased on the first set of the first number of unavailable REs and thesecond set of the second number of unavailable REs.

According to another possible embodiment, a TB size for the physicalchannel can be determined based on the determined repetition durationsof each of the plurality of repetitions. A respective redundancy versioncan be determined for each of the plurality of repetitions. A TB sizefor the physical channel can be determined based on the determinedrepetition durations of the plurality of repetitions and the determinedrespective redundancy version for each of the plurality of repetitions.

FIG. 7 is an example flowchart 700 illustrating the operation of anetwork entity, such as the network entity 120, according to a possibleembodiment. At 710, DCI can be transmitted. The DCI can includescheduling information for a physical channel carrying a TB. Thephysical channel can include a plurality of repetitions of the TB. Thephysical channel can span at least one slot. Each of the plurality ofrepetitions can be within a slot of the at least one slot. At least onerepetition of the plurality of the repetitions can have a differentduration than a duration of at least one other repetition of theplurality of the repetitions. At 720, a repetition duration of each ofthe plurality of repetitions can be determined based on a plurality ofavailable symbols for the physical channel. The plurality of availablesymbols can be determined based on the DCI. Other operations can beperformed, such as reciprocal and/or complementary operations to UEoperations described in the flowchart 600 or in other embodiments.

It should be understood that, notwithstanding the particular steps asshown in the figures, a variety of additional or different steps can beperformed depending upon the embodiment, and one or more of theparticular steps can be rearranged, repeated or eliminated entirelydepending upon the embodiment. Also, some of the steps performed can berepeated on an ongoing or continuous basis simultaneously while othersteps are performed. Furthermore, different steps can be performed bydifferent elements or in a single element of the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 8 is an example block diagram of an apparatus 800, such as the UE110, the network entity 120, or any other wireless communication devicedisclosed herein, according to a possible embodiment. The apparatus 800can include a housing 810, a controller 820 coupled to the housing 810,audio input and output circuitry 830 coupled to the controller 820, adisplay 840 coupled to the controller 820, a memory 850 coupled to thecontroller 820, a user interface 860 coupled to the controller 820, atransceiver 870 coupled to the controller 820, at least one antenna 875coupled to the transceiver 870, and a network interface 880 coupled tothe controller 820. The apparatus 800 may not necessarily include all ofthe illustrated elements for different embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The apparatus 800 can perform the methods described in allthe embodiments.

The display 840 can be a viewfinder, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), aLight Emitting Diode (LED) display, an Organic Light Emitting Diode(OLED) display, a plasma display, a projection display, a touch screen,or any other device that displays information. The transceiver 870 canbe one or more transceivers that can include a transmitter and/or areceiver. The audio input and output circuitry 830 can include amicrophone, a speaker, a transducer, or any other audio input and outputcircuitry. The user interface 860 can include a keypad, a keyboard,buttons, a touch pad, a joystick, a touch screen display, anotheradditional display, or any other device useful for providing aninterface between a user and an electronic device. The network interface880 can be a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, an Ethernet port, aninfrared transmitter/receiver, an IEEE 1394 port, a wirelesstransceiver, a WLAN transceiver, or any other interface that can connectan apparatus to a network, device, and/or computer and that can transmitand receive data communication signals. The memory 850 can include aRandom-Access Memory (RAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), an optical memory,a solid-state memory, a flash memory, a removable memory, a hard drive,a cache, or any other memory that can be coupled to an apparatus.

The apparatus 800 or the controller 820 may implement any operatingsystem, such as Microsoft Windows®, UNIX®, LINUX®, Android™, or anyother operating system. Apparatus operation software may be written inany programming language, such as C, C++, Java, or Visual Basic, forexample. Apparatus software may also run on an application framework,such as, for example, a Java® framework, a .NET® framework, or any otherapplication framework. The software and/or the operating system may bestored in the memory 850, elsewhere on the apparatus 800, in cloudstorage, and/or anywhere else that can store software and/or anoperating system. The apparatus 800 or the controller 820 may also usehardware to implement disclosed operations. For example, the controller820 may be any programmable processor. Furthermore, the controller 820may perform some or all of the disclosed operations. For example, atleast some operations can be performed using cloud computing and thecontroller 820 may perform other operations. At least some operationscan also be performed computer executable instructions executed by atleast one computer processor. Disclosed embodiments may also beimplemented on a general-purpose or a special purpose computer, aprogrammed microprocessor or microprocessor, peripheral integratedcircuit elements, an application-specific integrated circuit or otherintegrated circuits, hardware/electronic logic circuits, such as adiscrete element circuit, a programmable logic device, such as aprogrammable logic array, field programmable gate-array, or the like. Ingeneral, the controller 820 may be any controller or processor device ordevices capable of operating an apparatus and implementing the disclosedembodiments. Some or all of the additional elements of the apparatus 800can also perform some or all of the operations of the disclosedembodiments.

In operation, the apparatus 800 can perform the methods and operationsof the disclosed embodiments. The transceiver 870 can transmit andreceive signals, including data signals and control signals that caninclude respective data and control information. The controller 820 cangenerate and process the transmitted and received signals andinformation.

The transceiver 870 can receive DCI including scheduling information fora physical channel carrying a TB. The physical channel can include aplurality of repetitions of the TB. The physical channel can span atleast one slot. Each of the plurality of repetitions can be within aslot of the at least one slot. At least one repetition of the pluralityof the repetitions can have a different duration than a duration of atleast one other repetition of the plurality of the repetitions.

The controller 820 can determine a repetition duration of each of theplurality of repetitions based on a plurality of available symbols forthe physical channel. The plurality of available symbols can bedetermined based on the DCI.

According to a possible embodiment, two consecutive repetitions of theplurality of repetitions included in a slot of the at least one slot canbe non-contiguous in time where at least one unavailable symbol canexist between the two consecutive repetitions. According to a possibleembodiment, each of the plurality of repetitions can be on a consecutiveset of symbols from the plurality of available symbols. According to apossible embodiment, the transceiver 870 can receive a configurationincluding information of a plurality of potentially unavailable symbolsfor the physical channel via a higher-layer signaling. The higher-layercan be higher than a physical layer. The plurality of available symbolscan be determined based on a semi-static configuration and the DCI.According to a possible embodiment, the scheduling information caninclude an indication of a nominal duration of a repetition.

At least some embodiments can provide for a transmission occasion of anenhanced PUSCH that supports time-domain TB repetition that does not mapacross higher priority UL channels, such as low-latency HARQ-ACKfeedback/SR and/or configured higher-priority PUSCH resources. Symbolsof the enhanced PUSCH that overlap in time with other higher priority ULchannels can be opportunistically used for the enhanced PUSCH, dependingon whether the UE would transmit time-overlapped higher priority ULchannels.

At least some embodiments can provide for a TBS of an enhanced PUSCH (orPDSCH) that supports time-domain TB repetition that can flexibly bedetermined based on determined durations of a plurality of transmission(or reception) occasions in the enhanced PUSCH (or PDSCH). Further, anetwork entity can indicate a proper TBS determination method, dependingon packet sizes and target latency.

At least some embodiments can provide for TDD slot format(s) in RRCconfigured flexible symbols that can be indicated in scheduling DCI ofURLLC PUSCH (or PDSCH) that supports time-domain repetition, which mayachieve the similar high reliability for slot format indication.

At least some embodiments can provide a method at a UE. The method caninclude receiving information of an UL grant for a PUSCH carrying atransport block. The PUSCH can include a plurality of transmissionoccasions and can span one or more slots. Each of the plurality oftransmission occasions can be within a slot and at least onetransmission occasion of the plurality of the transmission occasions canhave a different transmission duration than a transmission duration ofother transmission occasions of the plurality of the transmissionoccasions. The method can include determining a transmission duration ofeach of the plurality of transmission occasions. The method can includedetermining a TBS for the PUSCH based on the determined transmissiondurations of the plurality of transmission occasions. The method caninclude determining a demodulation reference signal.

According to a possible embodiment, the TBS for the PUSCH can bedetermined based on a longest transmission duration among the determinedtransmission durations of the plurality of transmission occasions.

According to a possible embodiment, the method can include receivingindication of a first duration to be used for determining a TBS that isdifferent than a total transmission duration for the plurality oftransmission occasions. The first duration may not be the same as any ofthe determined transmission durations of the plurality of transmissionoccasions.

According to a possible embodiment, two or more transmission occasionsincluded in a slot of the one or more slots can be non-contiguous intime.

According to a possible embodiment, the method can include receiving anindication in the UL grant of a nominal duration of the transmissionoccasion. The method can include determining the transmission occasionduration of each of the plurality of transmission occasions based on thereceived indicated nominal duration. The transmission occasion durationof each of the plurality of transmission occasions can be at least thenominal duration.

According to a possible embodiment, the duration of the firsttransmission occasion of the plurality of transmission occasions can bethe nominal duration. The TBS for the PUSCH can be determined based onthe nominal duration.

According to a possible embodiment, the method can include receivingconfiguration by higher layers of a set numbers of OFDM/SC-FDMA symbolsthat can be used for TBS determination. The method can include receivingin the UL grant, an indication of a value from the set of numbers ofOFDM/SC-FDMA symbols. The method can include determining the TB S forthe PUSCH is determined based on the received indicated value.

According to a possible embodiment, the method can include receiving inthe UL grant, a slot format indication. The method can includedetermining the transmission direction of the flexible symbols in a slotcorresponding to a transmission occasion of the plurality oftransmission occasions based on the received slot format indication inthe UL grant. The method can include receiving configuration by higherlayers of a subset of slot format indexes, where the slot formatindication receiving in the UL grant can be one from the subset of slotformat indexes.

At least some methods of this disclosure can be implemented on aprogrammed processor. However, the controllers, flowcharts, and modulesmay also be implemented on a general purpose or special purposecomputer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheralintegrated circuit elements, an integrated circuit, a hardwareelectronic or logic circuit such as a discrete element circuit, aprogrammable logic device, or the like. In general, any device on whichresides a finite state machine capable of implementing the flowchartsshown in the figures may be used to implement the processor functions ofthis disclosure.

At least some embodiments can improve operation of the discloseddevices. Also, while this disclosure has been described with specificembodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives,modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in theart. For example, various components of the embodiments may beinterchanged, added, or substituted in the other embodiments. Also, allof the elements of each figure are not necessary for operation of thedisclosed embodiments. For example, one of ordinary skill in the art ofthe disclosed embodiments would be enabled to make and use the teachingsof the disclosure by simply employing the elements of the independentclaims. Accordingly, embodiments of the disclosure as set forth hereinare intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Forexample, some embodiments relating to UL channels can be applicable toDL channels and some embodiments relating to DL channels can beapplicable to UL channels.

In this document, relational terms such as “first,” “second,” and thelike may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from anotherentity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actualsuch relationship or order between such entities or actions. The phrase“at least one of,” “at least one selected from the group of,” or “atleast one selected from” followed by a list is defined to mean one,some, or all, but not necessarily all of, the elements in the list. Theterms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” or any other variationthereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that aprocess, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elementsdoes not include only those elements but may include other elements notexpressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, orapparatus. An element proceeded by “a,” “an,” or the like does not,without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identicalelements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprisesthe element. Also, the term “another” is defined as at least a second ormore. The terms “including,” “having,” and the like, as used herein, aredefined as “comprising.” Furthermore, the background section is writtenas the inventor's own understanding of the context of some embodimentsat the time of filing and includes the inventor's own recognition of anyproblems with existing technologies and/or problems experienced in theinventor's own work.

We claim:
 1. A method at a user equipment, the method comprising:receiving downlink control information including scheduling informationfor a physical channel carrying a transport block, where the schedulinginformation comprises information of a plurality of allocated symbolsfor the physical channel, where the downlink control information furthercomprises information of a plurality of available symbols within theplurality of allocated symbols, where the physical channel comprises aplurality of repetitions of the transport block, where the physicalchannel spans at least one slot, where each of the plurality ofrepetitions is within a slot of the at least one slot, and where atleast one repetition of the plurality of the repetitions has a differentduration than a duration of at least one other repetition of theplurality of the repetitions; and determining a repetition duration ofeach of the plurality of repetitions based on the plurality of availablesymbols for the physical channel, wherein all of the allocated symbolsare not always available symbols.
 2. The method according to claim 1,wherein two consecutive repetitions of the plurality of repetitionsincluded in a slot of the at least one slot are non-contiguous in timewhere at least one unavailable symbol exists between the two consecutiverepetitions.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of theplurality of repetitions is on a consecutive set of symbols from theplurality of available symbols.
 4. The method according to claim 1,further comprising receiving, via a higher-layer signaling, thehigher-layer higher than a physical layer, a configuration includinginformation of a plurality of potentially unavailable symbols for thephysical channel, where the plurality of available symbols aredetermined based on the information of a plurality of potentiallyunavailable symbols and availability information for the plurality ofpotentially unavailable symbols in the downlink control information. 5.The method according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of potentiallyunavailable symbols for the physical channel comprise at least one ofreserved resources, pre-emptied resources, at least a part ofsemi-statically configured flexible symbols, and symbols configured forat least one high-priority physical channel higher than a priority ofthe physical channel, where flexible symbols are symbols that areavailable for uplink or downlink transmissions.
 6. The method accordingto claim 4, wherein the higher-layer configuration includes informationof a set of allowed slot formats, wherein the downlink controlinformation includes an indication of a slot format of the set ofallowed slot formats, and wherein the method further comprisesdetermining the plurality of available symbols based on the indicatedslot format.
 7. The method according to claim 1, further comprisingreceiving at least one semi-static downlink and uplink configuration fora time division duplexing operation.
 8. The method according to claim 7,wherein at least one semi-statically configured downlink symbolconfigured via the at least one semi-static downlink and uplinkconfiguration is an unavailable symbol for the physical channel, whereinthe scheduling information comprises an uplink grant, and wherein thephysical channel is a physical uplink shared channel.
 9. The methodaccording to claim 7, wherein at least one semi-statically configureduplink symbol configured via the at least one semi-static downlink anduplink configuration is an unavailable symbol for the physical channel,wherein the scheduling information comprises a downlink schedulingassignment, and wherein the physical channel is a physical downlinkshared channel.
 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein thescheduling information includes an indication of a nominal duration of arepetition.
 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein determiningthe repetition duration comprises determining the repetition duration ofeach of the plurality of repetitions based on the received indication ofa nominal duration.
 12. The method according to claim 11, wherein therepetition duration of each of the plurality of repetitions is less thanor equal to the nominal duration.
 13. The method according to claim 10,wherein a transport block size for the physical channel is determinedbased on the nominal duration.
 14. The method according to claim 1,wherein each repetition of the plurality of repetitions includes atleast one demodulation reference signal symbol.
 15. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the plurality of repetitions comprises a firstrepetition and a second repetition, wherein the first repetition occursbefore the second repetition, and wherein the method further comprises:determining whether to use a first set of repetition durations or asecond set of repetition durations, where the first set of repetitiondurations comprises a first repetition duration and a second repetitionduration, and where the second set of repetition durations comprises athird repetition duration and a fourth repetition duration; in responseto determining to use the first set of repetition durations, decodingthe first repetition based on the first repetition duration and based onthe second repetition duration; and in response to determining to usethe second set of repetition durations, decoding the second repetitionbased on the third repetition duration and based on the fourthrepetition duration.
 16. An apparatus comprising: a transceiver thatreceives downlink control information including scheduling informationfor a physical channel carrying a transport block, where the schedulinginformation comprises information of a plurality of allocated symbolsfor the physical channel, where the downlink control information furthercomprises information of a plurality of available symbols within theplurality of allocated symbols, where the physical channel comprises aplurality of repetitions of the transport block, where the physicalchannel spans at least one slot, where each of the plurality ofrepetitions is within a slot of the at least one slot, and where atleast one repetition of the plurality of the repetitions has a differentduration than a duration of at least one other repetition of theplurality of the repetitions; and a controller coupled to thetransceiver, where the controller determines a repetition duration ofeach of the plurality of repetitions based on the plurality of availablesymbols for the physical channel, wherein all of the allocated symbolsare not always available symbols.
 17. The apparatus according to claim16, wherein two consecutive repetitions of the plurality of repetitionsincluded in a slot of the at least one slot are non-contiguous in timewhere at least one unavailable symbol exists between the two consecutiverepetitions.
 18. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein each ofthe plurality of repetitions is on a consecutive set of symbols from theplurality of available symbols.
 19. The apparatus according to claim 16,wherein the transceiver receives, via a higher-layer signaling, thehigher-layer higher than a physical layer, a configuration includinginformation of a plurality of potentially unavailable symbols for thephysical channel, and wherein the controller determines the plurality ofavailable symbols based on the information of a plurality of potentiallyunavailable symbols and availability information for the plurality ofpotentially unavailable symbols in the downlink control information. 20.The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the scheduling informationincludes an indication of a nominal duration of a repetition.